Elaine Barbagiovanni, Janis Knoll and Lea Ryan were sworn in. The BOE chose Joe Fisicaro Jr. as president.
The Evesham Township School District Board of Education held its annual reorganization meeting this week, at which time the board swore in returning and new members, as well made its selections for board president and vice president for 2018.
Returning incumbent board member Elaine Barbagiovanni was sworn in for her second term on the board, and board newcomers Janis Knoll and Lea Ryan were sworn in for their first terms.
The board now includes members Joe Fisicaro Jr., Trish Everhart, Barbagiovanni, Jeff Bravo, Knoll, William McGoey, Dennis Mehigan, Ryan and Nichole Stone.
This week’s meeting also saw Fisicaro and Everhart selected by the board to serve as president and vice president, respectively, for the year.
Fisicaro said this would mark his fourth time serving as board president, and he thanked his fellow board members for giving him the opportunity once again.
“It’s a hard job, but with this particular board and the direction we’re going, hopefully we’re going to have a great ability to work together,” Fisicaro said. “I feel blessed to work with this group.”
With more than half of the board’s members still serving in their first terms, Fisicaro said he hoped the board could become more experienced and lead the district as a group.
“I feel good with the group that’s here. I can’t emphasize enough,” Fisicaro said. “I think this is a very talented group. I think they bring a lot of variety to the table and have a lot of attributes they can share.”
With several hot-button issues in the district during the past several years, such as the closing of Evans Elementary School, Fisicaro said he was hoping for more stability this year for the district and the board.
Everhart, in reflecting on her role as vice president, thanked her fellow board members for putting their confidence in her, and said she looks forward to continuing to support what she described as the great work going on in the district.
“I’m looking forward to having a really positive year working with Joe and the other members of the board cohesively and collaboratively,” Everhart said.
Knoll, one of the two new members of the board, said she was also optimistic about the future of the district’s schools. Knoll said she planned to approach her time on the board as she did during her career as an environmental scientist, with a mindset of collaboration and creative problem-solving.
“The board’s focus should be to ensure our district is meeting the needs of this next generation of students,” Knoll said. “The administrators, teachers and staff have done a great job at keeping current as our world changes and becomes even more complex. I am on the board to support them in their efforts so that together we can take our school district from great to excellent.”
Ryan, the board’s other new member, said that as a parent, PTO member and former teacher, she’s hoping to bring a calmness and impartiality to the board, especially in regard to the strained relations between the board and municipality in recent years.
“I can’t wait to start getting in there and making decisions for kids and ending all the political back and forth that has been going on,” Ryan said.
The board also used its meeting this week to appoint various professionals for the board and district for 2018, as well as approve the BOE’s calendar of regular meetings.
Meetings are set for Jan. 25, Feb. 22 March 15, April 26, May 24, June 21, Aug. 23, Sept. 27, Oct. 25, Nov. 15 and Dec. 13.
The BOE will continue to begin the public portion of each regular meeting at 7 p.m. at DeMasi Middle School unless noted otherwise.
